“Somewhere over the rainbow…”

This report is the third in a series of reports by PIAC’s Homeless Persons’ Legal Service regarding mental illness and homelessness. The report is the result of consultations facilitated by members of PIAC’s consumer advisory group on homelessness, StreetCare, and thirty people with a history of mental illness who had recently experienced a period of homelessness.

The report summarises the experiences of people living with mental illness in attempting to access or sustain social housing, and finds that without on-going support, many formerly homeless people living with mental illness consider returning to the streets, rather than tackling the social and administrative challenges of living in high-density social housing.